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India's men's hockey team head coach Craig Fulton expressed his satisfaction with the team's consistency as they secured a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Under Fulton's leadership, the Indian team maintained an unbeaten streak throughout the event and secured a 5-1 victory over Japan in the 19th Asian Games. They remained unbeaten throughout the campaign and claimed their first gold medal in the Asian Games since 2014. "I really was pleased with the consistency. It's not an easy tournament because there are some teams are not fighting for the top four but you play them and do a good job. I was really proud of the performance in the semifinal, not an easy opposition," Fulton told ANI. "That was the priority. You get an opportunity like this and you got to take it and we have done so it sets us up nicely. We have time now to set up our own program. We will have a good plan in place and we want to peak at the right time," Fulton added. Coming to the match, Indian Men's Hockey Team forward Sukhjeet Singh earned his 50th International Cap in the match against Japan. Harmanpreet Singh (32', 59'), Manpreet Singh (25'), Amit Rohidas (36'), and Abhishek (48') scored the goals for India. Seren Tanaka (51') scored the sole goal for Japan. Speaking on India's massive win, Hockey India President 'Padma Shri' Dilip Tirkey said, "It has been a long wait of 9 years for India to claim the Asian Games Gold medal. We are proud of each and every member of the team and the support staff for their contribution to achieving yet another milestone for the nation in world hockey. This is only the start of the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics and we are confident our team will continue to rise even more in the coming year. Congratulations to all the players and the coaches for a memorable victory in Hangzhou." (ANI)
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